HARTFORD, Conn., May 12 -- The Trinity College baseball team has earned its third consecutive bid to the NCAA Division III Championship tournament, while both the Bantam men's and women's tennis teams were selected for their respective NCAA Division III Championship tournaments.

The Trinity baseball squad, under the direction of 2000 NESCAC Coach of the Year by Bill Decker, earned its third consecutive bid to the NCAA tourney as the first-ever automatic qualifier from the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Trinity had 21-7 record and a 7-3 record against NESCAC opponents. The NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship, a six-team, double-elimination tournament, will take place from Thursday, May 18 through Sunday, May 21 at a site to be determined. The remainder of the NCAA Championship field will be selected on Monday, May 15.

The Trinity men's tennis squad, coached by Paul Assaiante, earned its second straight NCAA bid after finishing with a 13-4 record. The Bantams will play NESCAC rival Bowdoin College on Saturday, May 13 at 9 a.m. at Williams College in Williamstown, MA. The Bantams will play the winner of Saturday's Williams vs. Bates match on Sunday, May 14 at Williams.

The Trinity women's tennis squad, coached by Wendy Bartlett, earned its first-ever NCAA bid, after finishing with a 10-3 record. The Bantams will play MIT on Saturday, May 13 at noon, also at Williams College. The Bantams will play the winner of Saturday's Williams vs. Rochester match on Sunday, May 14 at Williams.

The Trinity baseball team is led by 2000 NESCAC Player of the Year Brian Powell (Holyoke, MA), who leads the league in hitting with a .468 average and has 19 runs, 10 doubles and 26 RBI. Powell, a senior first baseman, is also an effective left-handed starting pitcher, posting a 4-0 record with a 1.74 earned run average and 25 strikeouts in 31 innings.

The Bantam pitching staff has been its strength with a 2.97 team earned run average. Junior right-hander Jarrett Bayliss (Williamstown, MA) and freshman righty Jonah Bayliss (Williamstown, MA) have combined for an 11-3 record on the mound. Jarrett Bayliss was 5-2 with a 2.44 earned run average and 53 strikeouts, earning All-NESCAC honors. Jonah went 6-1 with a 1.60 earned run average and 35 strikeouts, and was selected All-NESCAC and as the league Rookie of the Year.

All-NESCAC sophomore Andrew Freimuth (Bristol, CT) and classmate Greg Spanos (Auburn, MA) have provided solid all-around play this season. Freimuth is batting .429 with 48 hits, 32 runs, 14 doubles, and 29 RBI, while playing every game at shortstop. Spanos is batting .413 with 30 runs, four homers, and 25 RBI, and has just three errors at second base.

Junior All-American Rostyslav Orach (New York, NY) leads the men's tennis squad with a 14-3 singles record while playing at No. 1. Senior captains Alex Valente (New York, NY) and Matt Sharnoff (Orange, CT) both have 14-6 singles marks, while Valente and senior captain Jared Shiekh (Woodbury, CT) are 8-3 in doubles. Earlier this year, Trinity lost to Bowdoin, 6-1, while on its spring trip to Hilton Head, SC.

Junior Olga Bogatyrenko (Kharkov, Ukraine) leads the women's tennis squad with a 16-4 singles record. Senior tri-captains Caroline Hughes (Lowell, MA), Heidi Polsen (Chester, NJ), and Erica Johnson (Harvard, MA) have totaled a 34-12 singles record among them this season, while Polsen and Bogatyrenko are 13-4 as a doubles team.